Hospital cancels daily updates on Sharon

The Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer decided Tuesday to stop daily briefings on the condition of former prime minister Ariel Sharon.

As soon as Sharon’s condition changes, a press conference would be convened immediately, the hospital told the media. “The decision does not imply that his condition has stabilized,” hospital spokesman Amir Marom said.

In the most recent briefing from hospital director Ze’ev Rotstein Monday morning, he said Sharon’s vital organs were continuing to deteriorate, though his heartbeat and blood pressure had returned to normal. His condition did not change on Tuesday, and the 85-year-old remains in critical condition with his life at risk.

Politicians have been careful to not criticize Sharon since his condition deteriorated last week. But Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett appeared to do just that in a Tuesday speech at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies.

“I hear the expression ‘tough decisions [regarding the current negotiations with the Palestinians],’” Bennett said. “It was an easy decision to implement the disengagement [from the Gaza Strip in 2005] and throw 8,000 people out of their homes...”

Just last week, Bennett urged his constituents to focus on the positive achievements in Sharon’s career. “Certainly there are many of us (myself included) with great anger about the expulsion of 8,000 Gush Katif residents from their homes,” Bennett wrote on his official Facebook page. “But during these hours, while Sharon is fighting for his life, we should remember his merits.”